We used Material UI for the Design Framework and created a very minimalistic design that focused on allowing the users to navigate between pages.

Management

What was the project management approach to the project?

Using AgileScrum, we took an iterative approach to this project with a team consisting of a back-end engineer, frontend engineer, a designer and a project manager - with each iteration lasting one week.

We started out with nothing (no mocks, no wireframes, etc), but we didn't have time for Research Sprints, so we jumped right in with a modification of our usual pattern:

1) One week function sprint where we added new functionality

2) Half week QA sprint

3) Half week bug fix sprint

Repeat until finished.

Architectural Description

As this was a new product, we knew that initial usage would be very low and we were working with a near non-existent hosting budget, so a traditional, redundant, fault-tolerant architecture was unrealistic and wasteful.

However, using Serverless with AWS allowed for us to create a setup that will scale infinitely and immediately with no additional changes need from us. The cost will increase with usage, but at that point, the app will be generating revenue.

AWS AppSync automatically updates the data in web and mobile applications in real time, and updates data for offline users as soon as they reconnect. AWS AppSync makes it easy to build collaborative mobile and web applications that deliver responsive, collaborative user experiences.

AppSync let us specify the data requirements of the application with simple code statements and iterate quickly during the prototyping and development process.

AppSync uses GraphQL, an open standard query language that makes it easy for applications to request data from the cloud.

AppSync automatically manages all the data operations for offline users. The service supports an offline programming model where application data is not only available for users who are offline, but users can also add and update app data locally as well. This makes it easy to build apps that cache important data locally for offline use, and then synchronize with the cloud when the device reconnects.

The service integrates with Amazon Cognito and AWS Identity and Access Management, allowing us to set fine-grained permissions on GraphQL operations that put strict controls on who can access the data.

AppSync makes it easy to combine data from different sources. With AppSync, we could access data in Amazon DynamoDB, trigger AWS Lambda functions, or run Amazon Elasticsearch queries and combine data from these services to provide the exact data we needed.

As mentioned, we used the Serverless Framework to manage background processing of Facebook posts via Node.js Lambda functions and SQS queues.

Lessons

What did you learn from working on this project?

We learned a lot about the Facebook API - especially around the throttling and limitations.

We also learned a lot of rules about their platform and what is and is not against their terms of use.

Benefits

How did this project benefit the client?

Within a month of launching the app, our client saw a 165% increase in post engagement on Facebook, a 67% increase in traffic to their site and a 48% increase in conversions via the site.

Unfortunately, the changing regulations around Facebook due to the Russian and Cambridge Analytica scandal have put this app on indefinite hiatus as we lost access to data we needed to make this app work as designed.

Why Gunner?

Why was Gunner selected for this project?

Given the time constraints, we were the only firm that could promise delivery.

Aside from that, we offered the best solution for a niche problem and articulated it in a way the client could understand.

Proficiencies

Agile software development refers to a group of software development methodologies based on iterative development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams

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